Azerbaijan eyes resumnption of Russian gas supply

The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) intends to resume its gas supply to Russia after completing the restoration work on the gas pipeline running in a northerly direction, SOCAR head Rovnag Abdullayev told journalists today, on May 13.

SOCAR head said that currently, SOCAR doesn't export gas to Russia, as the repair and restoration work is underway on the pipeline that runs from Azerbaijan to Russia.The gas supply has been suspended since January 2014.

"The gas supply hasn't been resumed yet. But this doesn't have any impact on the contract, as the terms of this contract allow us to supply gas at any time," Abdullayev stressed.

SOCAR exported around 1.37 billion cubic meters of gas in 2013.

Azerbaijani gas is supplied to Russia on the basis of the contract on the purchase and sale of Azerbaijani gas with a possibility of extension. The deal was signed between SOCAR and Russia's Gazprom in Baku on October 14, 2009.

Gazprom was to receive two billion cubic meters of gas in 2011 and over two billion cubic meters in 2012, in accordance with a 2010 supplement to the contract. However, the Russian side did not get the full amount of the planned volume as of 2012.

The additional agreement to double the volume of Azerbaijani gas purchased by Russia, from 1.5 billion cubic meters to 3 billion cubic meters, was signed by both sides in Sochi on January 24, 2012.